the pentagon's u.s. cyber command is drawing up plans to bring 4,000 new computer security experts onboard. homeland security secretary janet napolitano warns that the lack of experts nationwide is critical. >> it should be encrypted here and is not. >> reporter: the university of southern california is among a handful of the nation's colleges answering the call, preparing to offer a degree in cyber security. >> for whatever type of system that i'm going to develop for somebody i want to make sure that it's secure. >> in the past if your computer got attacked, maybe you were worried about slow start up speeds. now they can actually affect your livelihood. >> reporter: educators say it's essential to start building the cyber work force earlier in schools and colleges, preparing for one part of the economy everyone agrees is expanding as the cyber threat spreads. pete williams, nbc news, washington. >>> the man who has been on the forefront of fighting cyber attacks among other threats at the pentagon is w